Signs of Spring

The first crocus blooms...guarded by Mr. Lucky.

More beading projects for the Spring Youth Auction at our church...

And new baby stuff for a Spring Arrival...

Spring is in the air!

Every spring we grab at the chance to drink in the colors and fragrances of spring before it really arrives, at the Flower, Lawn & Garden Show in downtown KC. This year it was as beautiful as usual, and we even wandered to the opposite hall to see the home improvement booths. Since we now have a pup, who seems to have the wanderlust, we made it a point to talk to the dog training guys, and got some ideas which we are putting into practice, but which Milan seems to think are even more hilarious than chasing the geese/chicken/ducks/cats around. We shall see. So far the game score is: People ZERO Milan About a Million and a Half.

But at least we saw some gorgeous orchids again, and viewed the raptor rescue display, which is pretty neat to see because we have all those birds out here in the country, but close up and personal, they are truly magnificent.

Milan really enjoys running in our creek, and getting all wet and muddy every day. After viewing all the stone and water structures at the show, maybe I can convince hubby to build a rock-lined pond and waterfall big enough to suit our pup's needs (haha).

New puppy

We lost our Belgian Sheepdog Molly back in September, from severe hip issues in her old age. She lived a long and happy life out here in the country. And this past winter we missed having a dog as a pet in our house. It was too quiet. The cats were entertaining but we just missed having a dog. So one day a few weeks ago I was cruising Craig's List for pet adoption, and chanced on a half border collie/half Australian sheepdog mix, which looked exactly like Perky, our kids' grandparents' dog. So I emailed her, we traveled for several hours way up to the northern border of MO/Iowa, and found a farm dog, 8 months old, who was used to running after the cattle on the farm. We brought her back, an eventful trip, considering she was not used to car riding (luckily we had a drop cloth and old rug in the back of the minivan), and she came home to our house and cats. Violet was happy to see another dog, but our older cat continues to give her great disgusted looks. ALL the time! Milan is our pup's name, named after the town near that cattle farm. You pronounce it MY-lan, not the usual Italian pronunciation, but typical for Missouri--ask any Missourian how we pronounce New Madrid???

Anyway, Milan went into heat right away when we got her home, so out to the vet for her first surgical experience. She did great, came home with a cone, which just mortified the poor girl beyond belief, so we took it off and reminded her about not chewing on her stitches. Pointing at the cone on the counter seemed to send the message, because she quit. She is getting her shots series all caught up, and having a great time herding our cats, herding the neighbor cats back home, herding the ducks, geese and chickens back to their house too. This is truly a country girl, with a sense of humor and a big smile on her doggy face.

Winter crafting

Every January, I get stricken by the "love-bug", wanting to craft Valentiney stuff, in lots of reds, with hearts. So started in small scale, and sewed up some American Girl-ish stuff for the grandnieces' dolls, and it started a sewing trend. I had not been at that machine for a month and a half, and it was like returning to an old friend, just sort of picking up the friendship where we had last let it lay.

Then I tackled a recycle project, turning a sweatshirt into a jacket, cutting it down the front, removing the stretchy bands, and sewing quilt borders on instead, then doing some quilted applique on front and back. This is a birthday present for Mom, which I plan on sending out this week. Hope she likes it enough to wear while walking along the beach in San Diego.

How to Kill a Pumpkin

Once you have located your victim, you need to sneak up on the little orange critter. You might find it setting silently on your front porch or sidewalk, or even on a hay bale out in the yard. Reach out and grasp it firmly around its middle, pick it up and run into your kitchen before it escapes! Now grab hold of the biggest knife you can find, the kind that Psycho made famous. The first cut is the hardest, and it might fight you on this one, but you need to stab the pumpkin about an inch away from the stem, and slice it all around the circumference of this stem. This disables the pumpkin so he won't roll away.

The hard part comes next because he might fight you still. You need to cut it in half, laying both halves out so you can gut it. This can get bloody. Those stringies and seeds just stick to everything when you scrape them out. I recommend a big bowl set aside to put the guts in, so you can decide later whether to dry the seeds in your oven or throw them out. The birds love dried pumpkin seeds by the way, and they are a big hit mixed with the sunflower seeds in your backyard bird feeder.

Next you preheat your oven to 325 degrees and invert the two cleaned-out halves onto a cookie sheet, and you are ready to bake it. If you have a pumpkin bigger than your cookie sheet, you can cut it into 3 or 4 big pieces, making sure that the skin is showing outside. Bake at 325 degrees, for ONE hour. You can start to smell the delicious fragrance of that pumpkin all over the house while it bakes. When you have removed it from the oven, you will notice that the bright orange has faded to a dark brown, normal markings for the species.

Finally, after you let the halves cool down sufficiently to begin the actual butchering process of this meat, you scoop out the flesh, all the way down to the inside of the skin, putting it into a large bowl.

Your average pumpkin, sized about 12-14 inches in diameter, should yield about 6 -7 cups of shredded meat. I puree it in my food processor, and then pack it in freezer cartons, measuring out one or two inch cups for future recipes.

Finally to those pumpkin seeds....I wash the stringies off the seeds, and this can get messy, and then dry the seeds spread out on parchment paper, on a big cookie sheet, at 225 degrees for 20 or 30 minutes. I stir them about every 5 minutes or so, and you can tell when they are starting to dry completely. If you are saving them for a human treat, you can sprinkle some salt on the seeds before drying, and then after drying, add sugar and spices as you desire. Otherwise, let them cool down and mix them into your bird feeder.

Happy Hunting!

Happy Fall Y'all!

We came back from the Ozarks and the first frost had arrived. Our tomatoes were toast, our peppers were past,and our impatiens had been impaled by the frost. But we do still have mums and marigolds, and parsley and pumpkins. So here are the pictures of summer leftovers which will hopefully give you a taste of our Fall.

Fall Field Trip

Remember those field trips we used to take with the kids--a day spent on a school bus with a lot of rambunctious kids eager to learn anything unimportant, but anxious to explore everything? Well, when you reach Senior-dom, you can take field trips too! We did last week, because we had an errand to run down I-70 to Columbia, to take some old sewing machines out to PET.

Personal Energy Transportation is located in a huge old warehouse on the edge of Columbia, off Route B, and they are a non-profit organization founded to provide mobility services to people who have lost the use of their legs due to polio, landmine injury, amputation, etc. all around the globe, so far reaching into 90 countries. They also send used wheelchairs, walkers and crutches to fill the same needs. And they recondition and spruce up old sewing machines, and ship them out to women in these countries, who want to establish a sewing business in their own homes. I packed up a bag of fabric, and a bag of sewing notions, some new, some extra of mine. They do an amazing job, using all volunteer help. Check out www.giftofmobility.org

Anyway, on our way home, we passed the exit to Arrow Rock, and decided to take it to explore. Arrow Rock is an historic old town perched on the Missouri River bluffs. It is the home of George Caleb Bingham, and his original house, built in 1837, has been lovingly restored and tended. The StateVisitors Center has a fantastic museum, with scale models and actual parts of the Boonslick Salt Mines and Licks, a riverboat, and antique furniture. We explored the original courthouse, about the size of a small garage, but it actually had a side room where people had to stay overnight, to await the arrival of the judge and jury members for trials. We ate at the Huston Tavern, another old building, from 1834, and have to say it was a wonderful luncheon, served by friendly waitresses. My favorite part of this trip? We took a "golf-cart tour" of the town and the buildings, our docent was fantastic, and we learned so much about Missouri's famous artist. Plus the added thrill of traveling in a golf cart! On our way home, we finally made it to downtown Blackwater, another place whose exit we always pass on the highway, commenting, maybe we will go there someday! Resolution for the future: take some more exits and explore more interesting places.